Social media schooling is on the rise – but is it necessary?

By Denny Carter

July 30th, 2013

When Julie Clark McKinney arrived at work Wednesday morning, the first thing she did was check Facebook to see if anyone ‘liked’ her images, The Wall Street Journal reports. Then she pulled up Twitter on her screen, and scrolled through her feeds in Hootsuite. She then looked at her Pinterest page, and flicked through Instagram. She’s not bored at work – it is her job as state community engagement specialist at newspaper company Alabama Media Group. Her role includes community management, social media postings and coordinating social media for four websites. McKinney is one of a growing number of people employed as social media specialists, whose role is to monitor brand activity and engagement online. Ms. McKinney, 25, is also among the first people to seek a graduate degree in social media. She has submitted an application to enroll at The University of Florida for what the college bills as the first graduate social-media masters program.

Denny Carter

Dennis has covered higher education technology since April 2008, having interviewed some of the most recognized IT pros in U.S. colleges and universities. He is always updating eCampus News with the latest in pressing ed-tech issues, such as the growing i